Ghost of a Trouble Past
by ScrapEls
Summary: "The Troubles had trickled down to a few a month, and the existing ones were erratic." Set late after Season 4, ignoring the apparent transformation of Audrey into Mara - a past Trouble reappears. Duke/Jennifer, Audrey/Nathan.


_**For M & I, always. **_

He was polishing the glasses. It wasn't, strictly, his job, but Henry had taken a day off to go fish with his father and Jennifer was sleeping soundly and she'd had a rough day at the Herald the day before and he didn't want to wake her up. He had nothing else to do. Mentally he made a note to go and have a talk with Vince and Dave about the long hours that Jennifer worked. He hardly ever saw her anymore and when he did, she was buried under their outdated and yellowed paperwork. Something about a thesis, she kept saying and how Vince and Dave were kind enough to let her use their archives. Duke snorted. _Kind enough, my ass. The old codgers have an ulterior motive for everything. _

Sighing loudly, he poured himself a drink. It was a slow day. Even Nathan and Audrey hadn't dropped by. He toyed with the idea of calling Audrey but then nixed it almost immediately. Nah, Nathan would be hopping mad if he interrupted anything and he was pretty sure Audrey had mentioned it was their day off. The Troubles had trickled down to a few a month, and the existing ones were erratic. They were all still waiting for Nathan to feel, though. Duke didn't know how he felt about that yet.

He drained the glass, stood up and stretched. He might as well head back up and see if Jennifer was awake yet. Maybe they could take the _Cape Rogue _out for a spin, go fishing, or something like that. Or maybe they could just spend the rest of the day in bed, he thought, smiling.

Just as he was about to step out from behind the bar and go upstairs, the bell tinkled and he looked up to see a young couple enter the Gull. _Ah. Business. _He thought. They looked around and then began to walk towards the bar. Duke smiled in greeting but he was starting to feel a little unsteady. _I can't have had that much to drink – ah!_ A sharp pain shot through his entire body and he reeled backwards into the shelves. A couple bottles fell down and he groaned. A waitress who had been swiping a table a few feet away looked up in alarm and hurried forwards.

'Duke! Are you okay?' she asked, helping him up as the young couple stood still, looking around in bewilderment.

'Is he okay?' the girl asked, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear and stepping forward anxiously.

'AHHH!' Duke moaned, his body convulsing. The waitress uttered a little scream and the young man stepped forward and helped him up.

'Shall we take you to the hospital or something, sir? You look really pale.' He asked, checking for Duke's pulse as the girl looked on worriedly and nodded.

'Ahh, no, I'm okay, I'm okay. Sorry about that.' Duke said, standing up weakly. The girl smiled nervously and the young man walked back to her.

'Really, I'm fine. Why don't you two – uh, have a drink. It's on the house, don't worry, and I'll just go upstairs for a bit. Mackie can take your orders. Mackie?' he patted the waitress on the shoulder, smiled at the couple and went out back.

Outside, he leaned against the wall for a minute, still aching. He had no idea what had caused that sudden pain. _It must be a Trouble. _He thought, taking deep breaths and trying to steady himself so everything would appear normal to Jennifer.

He took out his phone and punched in Audrey's number.

'Hey, it's me. No, everything's fine. Well, actually it's not. Look, I know it's your day off but something really weird just happened at the Gull. No, no, I said everything's fine. It was just this young couple. They came in. It's a slow day. There was no one else in the room except Mackie, the waitress. And as soon as they came in, I just – I felt this weird, sharp pain go right through me, like someone was stabbing me from the inside. No, I'm outside. Yes, I'm fine, Audrey. Yeah, okay, see you then.'

Sighing, he snapped his phone shut and started up the stairs.

* * *

Jennifer was awake, yawning and eyes droopy, standing over the stove. She turned as he entered and he smiled, not wanting her to guess what had happened.

'Hey,' he said softly, grabbing her waist and kissing her deeply.

'Hey, yourself.' She turned in his arms and leaned against his chest. 'I'm so tired, even though I just woke up. What have you been doing all morning?'

'Oh, this and that. Nothing much.' He said, absently stroking her arms. 'Thought maybe we could go out today. _Cape Rogue?_ But if you're tired we can spend the day in bed.' He grinned and she giggled as his fingers splayed over her stomach, tickling her.

She admonished him amusedly and turned to change into one of her summer dresses. He snuck glances at her in between looking at the waffles.

'Audrey and Nathan are coming. In a bit.' He finally admitted. 'There may be a Troubled couple downstairs.'

Jennifer stopped tying the belt and looked up at him curiously. Ever since the Troubles slowed down, any new case had all four of them interested.

'Really? What do they do?' she asked, taking over the waffles as he searched for plates.

'Well, apparently they cause pain.'

'Pain?'

'Yeah. Where are the white ones, Jennifer? I can't find them.'

'Over there.' She scooped up the waffles and dumped them on the biggest plate. 'Are they still downstairs?'

'They should be, I told Mackie they could have a drink on the house. So, yeah, they're probably downstairs.'

Jennifer stopped mid-fork and stared at him. 'But isn't Mackie affected? Wait, were YOU affected? Oh my god, are you okay!?' She reached for his hand across the table and grabbed hold, looking at him anxiously.

'Yeah I was affected, but no, I'm fine now. But yes, good point. Why isn't Mackie affected?' he frowned at his waffles.

'Maybe – maybe they can control it?'

'Maybe. Let's just wait for Ms. Anti-Trouble and her boyfriend to get here.' He smiled again, squeezing her fingers. He didn't want her to worry. But in his mind, he wondered why he had been the only one affected.

A few minutes later, he heard Audrey's light step on the stairs followed by Nathan's slightly heavy tread. Audrey snapped her phone shut as she entered.

'Well, no incidents of a pain causing couple have been reported anywhere else in Haven. Looks like this is our only lead. Are they still downstairs, Duke?'

'Should be. Let's check.'

* * *

When they all trooped into the bar, only Mackie was there, rearranging some bottles on the bar. Duke threw his hands up in despair and Jennifer giggled. Nathan ignored them and walked to the bar.

'Hey, Mackie. Where'd that couple go?'

'Hello Chief. They just left. I guess you missed them by a minute.' Mackie said, looking around at the little party. 'Why? Are they in some sort of trouble?'

'Not _in_ trouble, they _are _Troubled. Or so we think.' Audrey turned to the nearest table and sat down. 'Duke, why don't you start by telling us everything that happened.'

One by one they all sank into their seats, Nathan looking a little disgruntled. Duke nodded to Mackie to bring them some drinks.

'So, I was just hanging around the bar, polishing some glasses. It's Henry's day off. So I was just standing there and the bell tinkles and this couple walks in, right? So I walk back behind the bar and I'm about to offer them a drink, yeah? But then I just collapse because of this weird pain.' Duke grimaces. Jennifer reaches for his hand and smiles gently at him.

'So, Mackie runs over and the guy comes too, and he helps me up and asks if he should take me to a fricking hospital or something and –'

'Wait a minute.' Audrey interrupted him. 'You said the guy came forward to help you?'

'Yeah. Pulled me up.'

'So why weren't you in pain then?' she asked. 'You said they cause pain, right?'

'Yeah well, I don't know. He just helped me up and went back to his girlfriend and they both stood there looking anxious.'

'And why wasn't Mackie affected?' Jennifer asked, looking at Duke.

'Hmm. Seems like they can control it.' Audrey said.

'Or maybe it ebbs and flows, like the Troubles do these days.' Nathan added, unconsciously flexing his fingers around his glass. Duke looked quickly at Audrey and raised an eyebrow but she shook her head.

'Well that would explain how there were two separate bursts of pain.' Duke shrugged and took a sip.

'Two?' Jennifer asked, her eyes wide and worried. 'Oh god.'

'I'm fine, Jennifer.' He assures her.

'Two. Hmm. Was there anything you noticed… anything that might explain why there were two?' Audrey asked, scribbling slowly in her moleskine. 'How far apart were they?'

'Seconds apart, at most. And no, I didn't notice anything. They were just standing there. The girl moved forward to help but the guy got to me first.'

Audrey frowned at Nathan. 'So what do you think this is?'

'Definitely a Trouble.'

'Duke, would you be able to recognize them if they came in again? Nathan and I will get Vince here to do a sketch and then we can ask around too. And I'll ask Stan to tell us if a case like this is reported.'

'Yeah, sure.'

They all stood up and Duke patted Nathan on the back once.

'Hey, thanks for coming over on your day off, buddy.'

'Don't call me buddy.' He said, walking off after Audrey.

* * *

A day passed. Vince drew their picture and Audrey showed it around but no one had seen them. No cases of sharp pain were reported and neither did the couple come into the Gull again. Audrey sighed and leaned back against the couch.

'We've hit a dead end.' She admitted. 'Duke, are you sure you actually felt it? Maybe you imagined it or something.'

Duke looked at her incredulously. 'Of course I felt it, Audrey. I reeled backwards into the shelves and broke some bottles! Ask Mackie!'

'Okay, okay. But what if it's not a Trouble, Duke? No one else has reported anything like it. It seemed to be only centered at the Gull and only you felt the pain. Maybe you _should_ visit a hospital. Get yourself checked out.'

'Audrey, I am fine! Never been better. It's a Trouble and we both know it. Like Nathan said, it probably ebbs and flows or something like that.' Duke slammed his hands on the coffee table in exasperation.

Audrey was just about to reply when her phone chirped.

'Nathan? Yeah? Oh, okay, sure. Yes, I'll be there in ten. Love you too.' she added quietly but Duke had his ears pricked and a slow grin spread over his face.

'Nathan express his love often?' he asked mischievously.

'Shut up, Duke and get a move on. Nathan said a woman just called. A Mrs. Emery. She saw our couple last night. They checked into her B&B.'

'Yes! Thank god! A lead.' Duke exclaimed, grabbing his jacket.

'Hello! Mrs. Emery? Audrey from Haven PD.' She flashed her badge and smiled.

'Oh, hello, dear, have a seat. Can I get you a cup of tea?'

'No, no, thanks. We just wanted to ask a couple of questions, actually. This is Duke, from the Grey Gull. A couple had a drink there recently. A couple who I believe are staying here?' Audrey looked up inquiringly.

'Yes, dear. They just checked in last night. I believe they're not here right now. I remember asking them if they had plans for the day and Jean said she wanted to visit the harbor so they're probably there. Would you like me to pass on a message, dear? I hope they're not in trouble. They're such a lovely pair.'

'Lovely, my foot.' Duke muttered under his breath and Audrey kicked his ankle.

'No, they're not in trouble. But if you could give them my card, please and ask them to call me as soon as they come back? Thank you so much.'

'So will you put out an – what's that called – an APB?' Duke asked when they were back in her car.

'No. They're not exactly dangerous, are they? I'll wait for their call.'

Duke made a little disgruntled noise and settled back into his seat.

* * *

'Hey. You find anything?' Jennifer asked, snuggling up to Duke in front of the fire. It was late and she had just come back from the Herald. Duke stretched out like a cat and settled his chin on top of her head and sighed.

'No. Except that they're staying at Emery's B&B. Audrey left them her card and said she'd wait for their call.'

'Well, I'm sure she'll get to the bottom of this. She always does.'

Duke nodded in acknowledgement and wrapped his arms tighter around her. 'For now, let's forget all that.' She turned in his arms to face him, sitting on his lap, straddling his hips, her hands on his shoulders.

'How were Vince and Dave? Not too hard on you, I hope.' He asked, cupping her face and kissing her softly.

'They were okay. I'm still working on my thesis. They help out a lot.' She giggled in between kisses and wrapped her fingers in his long hair.

'I hardly ever see you anymore. We haven't taken the _Rogue_ out in ages. She'll get rusty.' Duke complained, nuzzling her throat as she arched her back and moved over him with a quiet moan.

'Hey, Duke. Your hair is going grey.' She giggled as she noticed the light strands that were wrapped around her finger.

'Are you serious!' he stood up suddenly and peered anxiously in the mirror as Jennifer giggled and jumped him from behind, wrapping her legs around his torso and her arms around his shoulders.

* * *

Nathan grabbed the pile of files off his desk so Audrey could perch on its edge. He looked at her, inquiringly as she tapped a pen against her chin.

'Hey, you okay?' he asked quietly, putting a hand on her thigh and reveling in the feeling of touch. The Troubles were slipping away slowly but his had not faded even one bit. For that, he was both angry and grateful. Angry because he wanted to feel again and he didn't want to be patient anymore. He had developed a ritual of touching his sheets, his bedside table, the knobs, every morning. He wanted to know it had happened as soon as it happened.

But on the other hand, he didn't know how his Trouble going away for good would affect his relationship with Audrey. His memories of touch and feeling were so far, only limited to her smooth skin and the damp of her sweat and the silk of her hair. If he started to feel, Audrey wouldn't be special. Wouldn't be the only one.

'Yeah. Just waiting for that girl to call. Jean?' She looked at him questioningly.

'Yeah. Jean.' He checked a slim file and nodded.

'I wonder why that sounds familiar. I keep feeling like I'm missing something very important.' She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and yawned.

'Hey, Audrey, let's get home. It's too late. If they will call, they'll call tomorrow. Let's go get some rest.' He stood up and rubbed her upper arm gently. All the other officers had left and even Laverne had head home a few minutes ago.

'Yeah, I guess we should go home.' Audrey gave in and shrugged into the jacket that Nathan held out for her. 'I am pretty tired.'

Nathan kissed her softly and led her out, searching his pockets for his keys. _Home_ was now his house, ever since they began 'officially dating' which in Haven, meant an article in the Herald announced it. In any case, Duke wanted to live above the Gull with Jennifer. The _Cape Rogue_ was getting old and Jennifer, however much she loved boats, got a little seasick every now and then.

Suddenly Audrey's phone rang and she shot him a quick look before picking up.

'Parker.'

'Hello, is this Audrey Parker from Haven PD? I'm Jean. Mrs. Emery told me to call you. I'm sorry, am I in some kind of trouble?'

'Hello, Jean. No, you're not in any trouble. I just had a few questions about the Grey Gull. You went there for a drink with your -?'

'Fiancé. And I'm sorry about the bartender. Is he okay? Is that why you're calling?'

'Yes. Jean, have you ever heard of the Troubles?' she looked quickly at Nathan, fingers crossed.

'No. What is that?'

'The Troubled are special people who can do things. There used to be many of them in Haven but over the past few years, their Troubles have died down, disappeared.'

'I'm sorry, Detective, but I have never heard of this. I'm not even from Haven. I'm from New Hampshire. I came here to find my birth parents because I knew that they once lived here.'

'Your – birth parents?' Audrey faltered, things clicking into place.

'Yes. I'm an orphan. I was adopted by a very nice family. But I'm getting married soon and I wanted to look for my real parents, talk to them. Meet them. Show them Scott. Maybe even be married here, in Haven. It's such a pretty place. But, I'm sorry, I don't see what this has to do with anything that happened at the Gull.'

Audrey inhaled sharply and Nathan looked at her curiously. She muttered something to the girl on the phone and snapped her phone shut and turned to him with a very shocked expression.

'Nathan, I think I know why Duke was the only one affected at the Gull that day and why we haven't had any other reports.' She grabbed his arm and led him outside to the truck. 'Let's go to the Gull, I think Duke needs to know this as soon as possible.'

* * *

When Audrey knocked, Duke opened the door, shirtless and sleepy. The lights inside were dim and she apologized for disturbing him.

'Ah, no, no, come on in. You're not interrupting anything.' He waved them in and called out, 'Jennifer, we have some late night guests!'

'Oh,' Jennifer sat up in bed, hurriedly pulling on Duke's shirt and buttoning it up, slightly red. Audrey smiled at her a little apologetically and sat down on the couch.

'Duke, that girl just called me. I think I know what's going on here.' Audrey told him as he struggled into his pants while Nathan looked around at the room, a little embarrassed at barging in like that.

'Great. So, what's up?' Duke asked, pouring himself a drink as Jennifer stepped down from the platform and joined them.

'Duke. You remember the first few Troubles after I first came here? Remember – Helena?' Audrey asked carefully.

'Helena? Umm – no. Actually, wait, yeah.' He shot Jennifer a glance and raised his hands in slight apology.

'Remember the daughter? Remember Jean?'

'You took a picture of her. I remember.' He said, draining his glass and pouring another. Nathan looked from Duke to Audrey and comprehension dawned on his face and he let out a snort.

'Well, that girl in the bar? She was Jean. She's your daughter.'

'Whaattt?!' Duke looked flabbergasted and Jennifer looked equally shocked. Only Nathan looked amused.

'You mean to say – you're telling me, that that girl, in my bar? That girl is my daughter!?' he asked incredulously.

'Yeah. And that guy was her fiancé.' Audrey smiled. Nathan actually laughed out loud at Duke's face.

'Is that why my hair is turning grey?' he asked, lifting a lock. Jennifer looked even more confused.

'Umm, wait a minute. Duke has a daughter? His hair is turning grey. So, uh, what's the connection? And how does he have a daughter anyway?' she looked at Duke, slightly upset.

'Well, why don't you explain all this to Jennifer. I think Nathan and I are gonna head home. I'll call you in the morning to see what we should do about it.'

* * *

Duke paced the Gull's porch, waiting for Scott. Through the glass door, he could see Jean with Audrey and Nathan. Jennifer was at the Herald, though she had really wanted to be there. She had taken all of it surprisingly well, Duke thought. He thought of her fondly and decided that he would definitely go to Vince and Dave after all this was over and ask them for a holiday on her behalf. She needed some time off.

'Hello. Um, sir?' Scott stood in front of him nervously.

'Call me Duke. How is she?' he asked, motioning for him to take a chair.

'She's fine. Audrey explained everything. She was pretty surprised first. She really wants to meet you but well, you'd die, right?' Scott gave a nervous laugh.

'Yeah.' Duke looked out at sea and didn't speak for a moment.

'Tell me about her.' He said quietly, not looking at him.

'She's a teacher. She teaches ten year olds back in New Hampshire. She likes it there. We met in Boston once. She was there for a teacher's convention.' He stopped and looked at Duke. 'She likes the rain and the sun on her face. She loves to read. She can eat a whole bag of marshmallows in one go. She hates wind chimes. She wants to have two kids, a daughter and a son. She can sing the alphabet backwards.' He stopped and looked down at his hands. 'I love her. I really do. And I'm very sorry she can't meet you like this.'

'Yeah, me too.' Duke turned away and blinks in the sun. 'You're getting married this Sunday? Here?'

'Yes. She wants you there. You won't be able to give her away, but she wants you to be there.'

'Yeah, I'll be there.' And with that, Duke got up and left.

* * *

'Nathan.'

'Duke.'

'Audrey's really good with her, isn't she? I talked to Scott. He seemed like a nice guy.'

'Yeah.'

Nathan didn't know where this was going. He felt sorry for Duke. Sorry that he couldn't be with his daughter or even meet her briefly. But after all their differences, he didn't know what to do about it. He wasn't the one to comfort Duke. That was Audrey's job. And she had said that as soon as Jean left, she'd have a talk with Duke.

'The wedding's on Sunday.'

'I know.'

Duke hesitated. _Better Nathan, if not me._ 'I was wondering. Would you be willing to give away Jean? I can't obviously, because I'd probably drop dead. And we can't ruin the day for her.'

Nathan stared at Duke. Whatever he had been expecting, it wasn't this. But he nodded. Duke grinned a little sadly and turned away from the glass door through which he could see Jean, her brown hair draped all down her back, her head resting on Scott's shoulder and her hand in Audrey's.

'Thanks, Nathan.'

* * *

The ceremony was not as little as Jean had expected it to be. Almost all of Haven had turned out to watch Duke's daughter get married. Jennifer was there too, a bridesmaid in a cloud of white tulle. Duke grinned when he thought of all the zippers and lace he'd have to go through. He was in the back of the church, standing near the door. Audrey was next to him, elegant in a tea pink gown.

'Now, you know that when he walks in with her, you have to go left through that door, right?' she asked him, checking her hair for any fly-aways.

'Yeah, I know. We've rehearsed, Audrey. It's no problem.'

She smiled and gave him a hug. 'Don't worry. It'll be okay.' And then she hurried to her place behind Jennifer and the organ music began to play.

From his vantage point where he couldn't be affected, Duke watched Nathan lead Jean in, whispering in her ear. She looked breathtaking and Duke felt a strange tug at his heart as he watched her walk up the aisle. As if she knew what he was thinking, she turned and smiled at him. Nathan too, looked over his shoulder and gave Duke a rare grin.

And he sat there, watching and waiting, cheering with the rest as Jean and Scott kissed. Jennifer had slipped back and now stood next to him, holding his hand and leaning against his arm, not saying anything. In the front of the church, Nathan grinned as Audrey caught the bouquet and Duke wolf-whistled.

Later, after the reception at the Gull, Jean hesitated when Scott held open the car door for her. She looked over her shoulder, at Duke and smiled again. This time she held up her phone and grinned wider at the curious expression on Duke's face: a mixture of relief, love and anxiety. He held up his own phone in greeting and watched her get in and drive away.


End file.
